The Hindu community were supposed to be celebrating Arrival Day—no doubt at public expense too—but Maha Sabha general secretary Sat Maharaj used the occasion to tell Roman Catholic archbishop Joe Harris to get lost instead.

Photo: Maha Sabha general secretary Sat Maharaj.(Copyright Power 102)

“Archbishop, mind your own damn business,” said Maharaj. “(…) If I had only one message, the message is: allyuh go to hell, this is a business of the Hindu community and the State.”

Somewhere in east Trinidad, boxing promoter Boxu Potts saw the video clip on CNC3 and pulled a muscle trying to sprint to the phone.

Everywhere else, onlookers probably winced.

The ‘business’ that Maharaj is defending, incidentally, is the right for Hindu girls to be married,under the Hindu Marriage Act, from the age of 14. So far, so backward.

Now, in case you missed it—maybe, for instance, you were focused on the stuttering economy, bloodletting in the streets, judicial constipation, police disservice, or the ticking time bomb next door in Venezuela—the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) head Brother Harrypersad Maharaj revealed, two weeks ago, that local religious bodies rather liked the idea of keeping the option of child brides on the table.

In case of emergencies, of course.

Which kinda begs the question: What sort of problem, save for pending deportation, is a hastily arranged marriage supposed to cure in 2016?

Photo: We’re looking at you “Dirty Harry!”

In a country where the last prime minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar—a Hindu one at that—felt it necessary to confirm her knowledge of pipe on a political platform; the current prime minister, Dr Keith Rowley, apparently thought “freedom of the press” was either a dare or an exotically named dish when he had a former Express reporter over for an allegedly flirtatious encounter; and the former Local Government Minister Chandresh Sharma was flattening mistresses in public car parks:

Does marriage really cover shame? Or merely increase the number of the humiliated?

Joe’s stock might be rising as we speak. Because, frankly, if Sat thinks you’re awful, then you must be doing something right. Not so?

Still, Mr Live Wire advises caution in looking for the good guy here.

First, if Joe didn’t know about this child marriage thing before, he surely saw it was on the IRO’s agenda for its last meeting. Was he afraid to show up and give dirty Harrypersad and Barbara Backward a piece of his mind?

Didn’t Joe read about when Jesus visited the money lenders’ temple and get on rowdier than Anna Ramdass in the police station? Or what of that bit about hiding your candle behind a bushel?

Photo: Archbishop Joseph Harris.(Courtesy Stabroek News)

Only tough in front of your own pew, Joe?

And as we are on the topic of Joe’s candle. Might Mr Live Wire also point out that the Catholic Church is on decidedly shaky ground when talk turns to pedophiles. Something like ex-AG Anand Ramlogan giving the feature address on animal cruelty.

Hey, stand up for what’s right by all means, Joe. But keep it real too.

Maybe Sat would have been more amenable to a chat on the matter if you’d lifted your own robe, is all Mr Live Wire is saying.

And when Sat said ‘go to hell’; well, it might not be quite as bad as it sounds. Hindus, according to wisdom gleaned from a few minutes of ‘Googling’, see hell as “naraka” where souls endure temporary torture while they wait for their next life journey through reincarnation.

In other words, it is like a trip to the local passport office.

Photo: Can… I… Help… You?(Courtesy Disney)

We’ve all been there, Joe. Just be sure to walk with a phone charger and some groovy tunes.

As for you, Sat. Can you explain your defiance about this child marriage thing some more?

“(Child marriage critics) could make children though,” said Maharaj, “with old men. Nobody locking up the old men…

“When you are young, you take chances. And if a girl at the age of 14 took a chance and she got pregnant, the two sets of parents will come together, and they will give support, they will send them back to school. And they will take charge of the child.”

Wait… So your defence is if the police are not successfully prosecuting offenders of statutory rape, why not legitimise the act and allow them to keep their victims?

I’m. Eh. But…

Sorry. No words. That’s exactly the sort of idea that, if you let bounce around in your head for a bit, leads to an aneurysm. Mr Live Wire would like to wait until his own daughters are grown before he gets back to that one.

Photo: Wait… Wha?!(Copyright Shuttershock)

The Maha Sabha jefe had some words for US Ambassador John Estrada as well.

“In every state it is a different age, and the age is as low as 13 in the United States of America,” he said. “Mr Ambassador, cure your own evil before you come to tell us how to cure our evil.”

Out of America’s 50 states, one, New Hampshire, allows marriage at age 13 with parental consent, although most start at 16. And the majority of the IRO, apparently, are happy to justify their stance on issues like child marriage, abortion and the death penalty by identifying with global pariahs rather than the mainstream.

174 comments

“The Hindu community were supposed to be celebrating Arrival Day—no doubt at public expense too…” Really Lasana?

Thought it was Indian Arrival Day – a public holiday, a National Holiday? At public expense? Was that really necessary Mr. Live Wire? Could you quote how much ‘public money’ was given and to whom? You have given the impression that Hindus were leaching off the State, when that has not been; and was not so.

I wonder if the Archibishop has an age of consent in mind for lil boys in the Catholic church??….Sat is an arrogant man..and dont like him..but this time i agree with the man…he did not say he supports child marriages….he said the State will dialogue with the religious body and compliance with state law will follow ref.Teenage marriage…..The Archibishop needs to seek repentance for the sins of the Church ..the rape of the Arawaks and Caribs..and the African girls during slavery when they made Barbuda a breeding island….when they introduced Syphilis to the natives and prostitution in East Africa….read Odinga’s Uhuru……

Why don’t the arch bishop talk about bugger in priests all over d world when l was a little boy going to confession on a Saturday in the cathedral l used to c a certain old old priest with a walking stick holding and hugging lil girls 9 10yrs old trying to kiss them all over their lips face etc he was what ppl call white…one of the reasons l unbaptisted myself from the Roman Catholic pagan church

I am a Hindu and Sat Maharaj certainly is not speaking on my behalf. I totally disagree with him and I am sure there are others who will distance themselves from his rantings. On the other hand I agree with the Archbishop. He voiced his opinion like everybody else and is moving forward.

Lol. Yes that’s the business. The minute Sat becomes ex-general secretary, the game changes. Although I won’t doubt that he will still be sought out for a quote or two then to “show contrast between him and his replacement.”
Incendiary sells. But it is justified once he keeps that role.

this is the media way of getting religious leaders to battle it out to sell news.. but seriously… lets take all leaders out of question … what is the difference between child marriage and ‘shacking up’ by girls under 18 with men who made them pregnant? and here we come back to protecting child or upseting many people when term ‘legalised abortion’ is brought up?
whats yr thoughts?

i am sure old sat will have lots to say if 40 or 50 year old mothers marry 16 year old boys .poor women will get lots of name calling from everyone male and female. so i hope all the men who want to sleep with a 14 year old should visualize an old man banging there sweet little 14 year old daughter and see if they like it . someone see if … have a 14 year old grand child to put her in a life of misery maybe he would like that. so women come out and put a stop to men raping our babies .

Nirvan, we should not care about the statutory rape of Hindu girls is what you’re saying?
Interestingly, I don’t think anyone is trying to rape you. So, if you are not speaking as a potential rape victim or on behalf of rape victims…
Well, it begs the question as to who you are speaking up for here. :-/

I wonder if the curious 13/14 year old hindu boy and his other curious catholic (negro) girl get together and she gets pregnant if he’ll encourage the two families to get togethe,r give support and send them back to school and take care of the dougla child.

Or the the little hindu girl and and the non religious black boy. Is the support only when its two hindu children or is he willing to go outside the box when the children take chances putting aside religion and race.

Cut away all the hype and examine what Sat Maharaj is saying . This dotish ass is saying AFTER a man rapes a 12 year old we will get them married and everything will be alright. This is what this beast is saying. Mr Al Rawi, Mr Young, Mr Prime Minister you are there to govern, to make, amend and repeal laws not to consult with Sat Maharaj, do not let the population down. Even the women in the SDMS wants the harmonisation of the consent age and the marriage age in Trinidad and Tobago.

I haven’t seen on social media a lot of public condemnation of Sat’s comments from people with Hindu sounding names (a term i use purposely), so maybe like Donald Trump when he speaks, he knows exactly who he is speaking to!

Silence isn’t consent, Lasana. It’s just that most of us are intellectually smarter than Sat by far, and we realise that his opinions are actually meaningless. Not to mention that trying to teach Sat at his age is like trying to train a chair to jump. 😀

Religion has brainwashed fools for generations, and will continue to do so … mainly the geriatric males who can only drool over nubile teens with firm bodies. I guess Viagra gave them hope.

A similar argument has been used against Muslims. If a terrorist attack happens and Muslims are not flooding the streets to protest, they must support terrorists.
It isn’t always that simple. Also looking for “Hindu sounding names” might be far from scientific.

A similar argument has been used against Muslims. If a terrorist attack happens and Muslims are not flooding the streets to protest, they must support terrorists.
It isn’t always that simple. Also looking for “Hindu sounding names” might be far from scientific.

Do you think I believe terrorists represent Muslims based on what I said?
Social media isn’t the best gauge for public opinion. You might be right. You might be wrong. Just felt you should keep that in mind.

I am wondering if critics think that Mr. Sat Maharaj made the law! As far as I know, Mr. Maharaj wasn’t even in the Maha Sabha in those days. Would it be sane to get to the origin of the law and trace things from there? Or that is too challenging?

Your grammar sucks! If you like 12year olds here are some words for you to learn the meanings of – pervert, paedophile, demented, child molester, freak, delusional, and few slangs – dirtiness, stinker, locho, dorg. GET A LIFE

People like him and many others with his attitude, mindset and toxicity can only propagate in a society like ours. We are tolerant and tolerate bushels of things in Trinbago that neither progress or enhance our country. People like him who get to promote their own ideas because of the office they hold.

Im telling SAT to ..BURN IN HELL!…. like he is pushing a racial war …..and why don t the press/ media block him like when facebook or social media block someone for making offensive and abusive language ?

Why all this hostility…. are you against blacks in this country.. hence the reason why you re lashing out…. are you an indian or a trinidadian this will explain alot to me are you brahmin? Who would like to see blacks beneath your feet….. hmmmm

If you notice during bith interviews Sat refused to allow his interviewers to introduce information that counters his argument……and whenever his interviewers did successfully introduced such information Sat asked them who they’re representing.

Not that, that would have made things any better. However, he could have taken the stance that, “It’s a topic the Hindu community is discussing, and we’re looking at all the pros and cons, before we make an official decision.” At that point, whether he’s blowing hot air, or not, you have no choice, but, to give him the benefit of the doubt. But, he was so defensive, and so vehement about that defense, it just upped his stupidity, and creep factor.

Sat does raise an interesting point (albeit unintentionally ) at what point do we say to religions groups-“your beliefs are irrational and harmful . Apart from child marriage- there are questions of gay rights?- should we tolerate women in burkas? ..should we teach creationism? I don’t think .. we should allow religions to dictate public policy- child marriage is an easy policy to be against- but there are other irrational and harmful beliefs that Trin’s will defend the right to have

I feel like the key is keeping the public good top-of-mind. It won’t make all of the decisions as easy as this one, but if the metric is whether it’s harming the citizenry/the nation at large (and/or is unconstitutional), then it does simplify matters somewhat.

`Indian arrival day is more than a Hindu occasion-They are Muslims and Christians and other religious ‘Indians” here. I am an atheist who celebrated arrival day.(at no expense to the state) People forget that India is a secular state . India’s first PM was an atheist and the man regarded in India as the greatest Indian ever- Dr. Ambedkar..was a Buddhist….why exactly is Sat and his BJP brand of Hinduism seen as the norm..or as the only kind

If the public sees Sat as the authoritative voice for Hinduism, that isn’t just the on the public I would think.
The story didn’t say anything about Arrival Day being just for Hindus. It didn’t even call it “Indian Arrival Day.”
But I suspected you just wanted to make a broader point.

Wrong is wrong.
No matter how you spin it, it wrong. Why then, are people OK with defending Sat? He is wrong. All how he wrong… yet they can still defend his actions, even though he makes the whole look terrible…

How is this even possible?????
To say he is wrong is not to denounce your faith. Rather it is to defend it. He is not the whole Hindu religion. He can’t be. Why then is no one lobbying for his removal as one of the biggest voices in Trinidadian Hinduism? He’s racist, sexist, and believes in child marriages… all of which is wrong. It is not a betrayal of your community to stand out against his ill thoughts. It is a defense of it. Can’t people see this???

Front of the class for you.
The persons defending this ass are the persons God couldn’t have intended. They are mistakes, faux pas, surplus to requirements and they live in every part of every community you could ever imagine. We are a failed species, and Sat exemplifies it beautifully.

Just adding a bit not All Hindus support Sat, I grew up in a Hindu home and only when I turned adult did I hear about Sat and came to my conclusion he is an ignorant, arrogant sickening man ( I cant even use human being). And not everyone is BRAIN WASHED by him, a lot of followers left his group when they figured out who he really is. Why this excuse for a human being is allowed to speak for an entire Religion is beyond me but Im sure only a minority of Hindus really supports Sat.

I know he represents a very small part of Hindus in Trinidad…. what I can’t understand is WHY he is allowed to speak for the whole? Why does he have such power? Why isn’t he removed? Don’t tell me it can’t be done… nothing is absolute. I have many friends who are Hindu… some of whom I consider to be my family… I love them…

Sat has been around for a long time and growing up the followers of the pundits were how I could say this ? buffed if they questioned or had a problem with what that leader was doing. as you will see Sat is aggressive and I guess the ones that dont take him on would rather just leave it there and just go on with their own lives. But it is wrong to have him there and the right person to oppose Sat wil do that in time to come

If you listened to the power breakfast show this morning you would have heard the Arch bishop say that he was not interested in engaging in any holy war. He had something to say and he said it and is moving on. The only person/thing smouldering is Sat.

so would you have a holy war to protect the right to marry a 14yo? FYI this isnt about religion … it about a child’s rights to not be exploited. We no longer live in a world where a woman’s survival is dependant on having a husband to provide for and protect, where girls don’t have the same opportunities as a boy or where life expectancy is 30-40 so really the only thing left is pedophelia. Are you protecting your religious right to pedophelia?

Hey, it’s not worth arguing with people who are old as he. We the women and young ladies are taking our lives back. No more child marriage. Done talk. Oh and legalize marijuana and get the young men out of the prisons

Most of the younger, educated, progressive Hindus I know do not agree with Sat. Sat also seems to think Hinduism is stuck in his old days and is an “Indian only” thing. It has long transcended that.

People are taking away the more universal and philosophical deeper truths of Hinduism along with certain proven beneficial practices like yoga and meditation but rejecting some of the more ritualistic and superstitious and racially clannish aspects of it. We now live in a world where a non-Indian is teaching Kundalini yoga and an Indian Hindu is reading Christopher Hitchens and trying to reconcile scientific evidence with his faith.

In short, Sat’s world has shifted right before his eyes and he does not even realize it. He is OUT OF STEP with the younger generation and with women within his own religion.

2 days agoby wired868Where de cameraman gone?! Naparima College attacker Ezekiel Kesar celebrates in front of an abandoned SportsMax camera post during SSFL action against St Mary’s College at Lewis Street, San Fernando on 11 September. SportsMax refuses to broadcast the match because Naparima turned out in unsanctioned jerseys with an unapproved sponsor. Naps and St Benedict’s College have since apologized for the rule violation. Photo: Allan V Crane/CA-images/Wired868

4 days agoby wired868On the move... Naparima College captain Decklan Marcelle (right) runs at a Presentation College (San F'do) player during SSFL Digicel Cup action at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium on 7 September 2019. Photo: Allan V Crane/CA-Images/Wired868

4 days agoby wired868How sweet it is... Naparima College custodian Regaleo Holder stops to smell the roses after their penalty shootout win against Presentation College (San F'do) in the SSFL Digicel Cup on 7 September 2019 at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium. Photo: Allan V Crane/CA-Images/Wired868

4 days agoby wired868That way! TKR captain Kieron Pollard points the way to success during CPL action against the St Lucia Zouks on 8 September 2019. Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/CA-Images/Wired868

3 days agoby wired868Hot hot hot! A TKR fan shades herself from the sun during CPL action against the St Lucia Zouks at the Queen’s Park Oval, POS on 8 September 2019. Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/CA-Images/Wired868